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About this video

Look close! There's probably a microbat at yours

Look close! There's probably a microbat at yours

Discover the tiny bats that live in Australian backyards in urban areas, including large cities. Watch this clip to learn more about these elusive Australian mammals, and to find out about a large-scale survey undertaken in Melbourne. Scientist, Dr Rodney van der Ree, addresses a group of volunteers in the field and explains the method used to capture bats in the survey.

Things to think about

1

Before viewing

There are many different species of native bats in Australia, and they live in different places. What do you know about bats and what they require to survive?

What things might influence where bats live?

2

As you view

Why does the reporter in the clip suggest 'scientists have to think like a spider to catch a bat'?

The clip describes a scientific survey of bats being conducted in Melbourne. Why are scientists capturing bats in an Australian city?

3

After viewing

Explain the method used by the scientists to capture the bats in the survey. Draw a diagram if it helps to explain.

The method used was described as an 'ideal method'. Why, and do you agree?

If a relatively small number of microbats were captured during the survey, what would this say about the effect of population growth on microbat populations?

4

Next steps

The survey described in the clip relied on the assistance of a large number of volunteers that joined up on the website: www.earthwatch.org. Visit the website and research some other projects volunteers may become involved in.

Use the internet to discover local management projects in your area that rely on the support of volunteers.

Transcript

KERRY O'BRIEN: The debate on rapid population growth in Australian cities may be primarily about its impact on people, but wild animal species living sometimes unseen in urban environments are also suffering upheaval. In an effort to gauge the effects on one such animal, a group of Melbourne scientists is calling for volunteers to help conduct the world's biggest survey of its type. They'll be searching the suburbs of Melbourne for a number of species of tiny bats, which, anecdotally, are facing a rapid decline. Jeff Waters reports.

JEFF WATERS:Some bats enjoy a very high profile. Fruit bats, or flying foxes, snooze their days away beside waterways like the Yarra River before heading out to raid backyards. But in metropolitan Melbourne, at least, these plant-eating mammals are greatly outnumbered by their far more secretive insect-eating relatives. Some surveys suggest microbats - that's the type that uses echoes from soundwaves instead of sight and smell to get around - are present in just about every backyard in the city.

DR LINDY LUMSDEN:You can see his wing quite well like that.

JEFF WATERS:In her work for Victoria's Department of Sustainability and the Environment, Dr Lindy Lumsden has made a life out of studying microbats.

DR LINDY LUMSDEN:I started using them for talks and thought, 'Oh, they need to go to the museum at some stage. When they die, in six months time, I'll take them to the museum'. That was 20 years ago and they still haven't died, so they obviously don't want to go to the museum.

JEFF WATERS:These scientists are looking for a huge number of volunteers to help them find exactly where the wild things are.

DR RODNEY VAN DER REE:Well, great. Thanks for coming tonight. The aims of the project is to look at the bats across Melbourne and try and understand which species of bats still occur in Melbourne and where they occur.

JEFF WATERS:The project, to survey a 40km radius from the central business district, is being led by the University of Melbourne's Dr Rodney van der Ree.

DR RODNEY VAN DER REE:There's been one study that showed that one bat could eat 600 mosquitoes within an hour. So, potentially, they're really, really valuable and they play important roles in the ecosystem.

JEFF WATERS:The scientists are teaching volunteers who've joined up on the earthwatch.org website. It appears that to catch a bat you have to think like a spider.

DR RODNEY VAN DER REE:Like that. Under there like that. Yep. So they'll hit the fishing line, slide down the fishing line and then they go into the bag. And once they're in the bag they can sit there for a couple of hours without any problems. And then we come along at regular intervals during the night and take them out. It's an ideal method because there's very little injury to the bats. In fact, I don't know of any injuries that have occurred to bats in heart traps.

For teachers

Year 7 Science Strand: Science as a Human EndeavourSubstrand: Nature and development of scienceContent code: ACSHE223Description: Science knowledge can develop through collaboration and connecting ideas across the disciplines of science

Year 7 Science Strand: Science UnderstandingSubstrand: Biological sciencesContent code: ACSSU112Description: Interactions between organisms can be described in terms of food chains and food webs; human activity can affect these interactions

Year 6 Science Strand: Science UnderstandingSubstrand: Biological sciencesContent code: ACSSU094Description: The growth and survival of living things are affected by the physical conditions of their environment

What to view next:

Look close! There's probably a microbat at yours

Overview

Discover the tiny bats that live in Australian backyards in urban areas, including large cities. Watch this clip to learn more about these elusive Australian mammals, and to find out about a large-scale survey undertaken in Melbourne. Scientist, Dr Rodney van der Ree, addresses a group of volunteers in the field and explains the method used to capture bats in the survey.

Things to think about

Before viewing

There are many different species of native bats in Australia, and they live in different places. What do you know about bats and what they require to survive?

What things might influence where bats live?

2

As you view

Why does the reporter in the clip suggest 'scientists have to think like a spider to catch a bat'?

The clip describes a scientific survey of bats being conducted in Melbourne. Why are scientists capturing bats in an Australian city?

3

After viewing

Explain the method used by the scientists to capture the bats in the survey. Draw a diagram if it helps to explain.

The method used was described as an 'ideal method'. Why, and do you agree?

If a relatively small number of microbats were captured during the survey, what would this say about the effect of population growth on microbat populations?

4

Next steps

The survey described in the clip relied on the assistance of a large number of volunteers that joined up on the website: www.earthwatch.org. Visit the website and research some other projects volunteers may become involved in.

Use the internet to discover local management projects in your area that rely on the support of volunteers.

Transcript

KERRY O'BRIEN: The debate on rapid population growth in Australian cities may be primarily about its impact on people, but wild animal species living sometimes unseen in urban environments are also suffering upheaval. In an effort to gauge the effects on one such animal, a group of Melbourne scientists is calling for volunteers to help conduct the world's biggest survey of its type. They'll be searching the suburbs of Melbourne for a number of species of tiny bats, which, anecdotally, are facing a rapid decline. Jeff Waters reports.

JEFF WATERS:Some bats enjoy a very high profile. Fruit bats, or flying foxes, snooze their days away beside waterways like the Yarra River before heading out to raid backyards. But in metropolitan Melbourne, at least, these plant-eating mammals are greatly outnumbered by their far more secretive insect-eating relatives. Some surveys suggest microbats - that's the type that uses echoes from soundwaves instead of sight and smell to get around - are present in just about every backyard in the city.

DR LINDY LUMSDEN:You can see his wing quite well like that.

JEFF WATERS:In her work for Victoria's Department of Sustainability and the Environment, Dr Lindy Lumsden has made a life out of studying microbats.

DR LINDY LUMSDEN:I started using them for talks and thought, 'Oh, they need to go to the museum at some stage. When they die, in six months time, I'll take them to the museum'. That was 20 years ago and they still haven't died, so they obviously don't want to go to the museum.

JEFF WATERS:These scientists are looking for a huge number of volunteers to help them find exactly where the wild things are.

DR RODNEY VAN DER REE:Well, great. Thanks for coming tonight. The aims of the project is to look at the bats across Melbourne and try and understand which species of bats still occur in Melbourne and where they occur.

JEFF WATERS:The project, to survey a 40km radius from the central business district, is being led by the University of Melbourne's Dr Rodney van der Ree.

DR RODNEY VAN DER REE:There's been one study that showed that one bat could eat 600 mosquitoes within an hour. So, potentially, they're really, really valuable and they play important roles in the ecosystem.

JEFF WATERS:The scientists are teaching volunteers who've joined up on the earthwatch.org website. It appears that to catch a bat you have to think like a spider.

DR RODNEY VAN DER REE:Like that. Under there like that. Yep. So they'll hit the fishing line, slide down the fishing line and then they go into the bag. And once they're in the bag they can sit there for a couple of hours without any problems. And then we come along at regular intervals during the night and take them out. It's an ideal method because there's very little injury to the bats. In fact, I don't know of any injuries that have occurred to bats in heart traps.

For teachers

Science: Year 7Strand: Science as a Human EndeavourSubstrand: Nature and development of scienceContent code: ACSHE223Content description:Science knowledge can develop through collaboration and connecting ideas across the disciplines of science

Science: Year 7Strand: Science UnderstandingSubstrand: Biological sciencesContent code: ACSSU112Content description:Interactions between organisms can be described in terms of food chains and food webs; human activity can affect these interactions

Science: Year 6Strand: Science UnderstandingSubstrand: Biological sciencesContent code: ACSSU094Content description:The growth and survival of living things are affected by the physical conditions of their environment